Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Do you think that's a bit pretentious? That's not me saying it, that's the name of a cake and of the small pastry shop that sells said cake in Lisbon. It's famous arround here but since I was living abroad for such a long time, I only tried it not long ago when I was lucky to meet 2 cool fellow bloggers. It was my first time meeting other bloggers AND eating "the best chocolate cake in the World". Too much emotion for one afternoon!

The cake was very good. The best in the world? Well, that's difficult to say because a) I have not tasted all the chocolate cakes in the world and b) This is not technically a cake, it's a stack of meringue disks filled with chocolate mousse and covered in chocolate ganache. Of course the name was a smart marketing strategy, but still, the cake is very good! I brought a piece for my mom who requested a clone for her birthday.

Her birthday was last week and this was my version:

THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER MADE (ACCORDING TO MY AUNT WHO IS ON A DIET)

Cocoa Meringue:

280 gr/ 10 oz (6-7) egg whites

500 gr/ 1lbs + 2 oz sugar

3 tbsp cocoa powder

Whip the egg whites until soft peaks and add the sugar little by little, keep whipping the meringue until it's stiff and glossy. Sift the cocoa and add delicatelly to the meringue. Divide into 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and make disks with the help of a spatula. Bake for about 2 hours in a very low oven (110ºC/ 225º F). You can put all 3 baking sheets at the same time in the oven, making sure you rotate them twice so all 3 sheets are at the bottom, center and on the top shelf of the oven, so they bake evenly. Remove from the parchment paper and let cool completely on racks.

Chocolate Mousse:

200 gr/ 7.1 oz good dark chocolate

200 ml cream

200 ml whipped cream

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

This mousse has to be prepared the day before you are going to use it. Break the chocolate into small pieces and take to the microwave for 1m. Boil the 200ml of cream and pour over chocolate. Let stand for 1-2 minutes and then mix them together, making a ganache. Mix in the vanilla and salt. Let it cool before adding the whipped cream. When adding the whipped cream, fold it gently into the ganache and take to the fridge to use the next day.

Toblerone Ganache:

1 small Toblerone (100 gr/3.5 oz)

100 gr/ 3.5 oz cream

1 tbsp butter

1/8 tsp salt

Chopp the Toblerone into small pieces and take to the microwave for 1m. Boil the cream and pour over the Toblerone. Let stand for 1-2m and then mix until you have a shiny ganache cream. Cut the butter in tiny pieces and add together with the salt and mix until incorporated. If it's to thin to pour over the cake take to fridge for 20m or so. Or you can spread it instead pouring if you prefer, just leave it in the fridge until it's thick enough.

Topping/Decoration:

Melted white chocolate

Melted dar chocolate

Finelly chopped Toblerone

Melt the chocolates and put them in zip lock bags, pastry bags or use a spoon to drizzle over the cake.

Assembly:

On a serving plate put a meringue disk (it's a good idea to use a small dollop of ganache to glue it to the plate)

Spread half of the mousse

Top with the second disk of meringue

Spread the other half of mousse

Top with the last meringue disk

Pour or spread the Toblerone ganache

Decorate with the melted chocolates and chopped Toblerone

This meringue/mousse thing is not a new concept, there's a known cake named Concord Cake that is like that, also Pierre Hermé has an Autumn Meringue Cake that looks very much like the one from the pastry shop. In fact people say that the owner of "The best chocolate cake in the World" started making the cake after eating a similar one in Paris.

For my version I used my go-to recipes for meringue (just added cocoa) and rich egg-less chocolate mousse. I made my meringues much thicker for more crunch, and I've used Toblerone to make my ganache instead of regular chocolate because that's my mom's favourite. And also drizzled some more chocolate and sprinkled chopped Toblerone to make it more festive, it was for a birthday after all!

My mom said that mine was even better than the one from the pastry shop, but she's my mom, so of course she was going to say that. My aunt said that this was the best thing I have ever made (from the ones she tasted), but she's on a diet so I think anything she eats outside her diet must taste like it's the best in the world!

But really, it was quite good: crunchy and creamy and rich and chocolatey!... How could it not be good?

Um, wow... I don't feel qualified to say 'best in the world' (although I'd LOVE to sign up for that job!!), but it sure does look AMAZING. I haven't broken my diet since I started - HOWEVER, if this was in front of me, I'd be all over it :) WOW!

"The best" of anything is always a big call, isn't it? I never have a best-of, chocolate cake, because my favourites change all the time! This one looks like a giant layered chocolate macaron - which can't possibly be a bad thing! :D

Looks great! Maybe my husband would like that kind of "cake". He really hates cake and frosting. So does the merinque stay crunchy? How do you slice something like that? Does the mousse ooze out? Just wondering.You go, Girl--making it better than the original!

I was reading the beginning of your post and thought, "I have a similar recipe in one of my books and it's called a Concord Cake", but I kept reading and you beat me to it. :-D My recipe isn't covered with TOBLERONE GANACHE! Wowee yum. I love that idea.

that's so cool that the actual cake is meringue. i've never made a meringue cake before (even when i wasn't vegan). it does look beautiful and you have ever right to say it's the best chocolate cake in the world. i feel the same way about my muffins!!! hehe

Ohhh.. i believe your aunt because i once made something similar, a recipe by Pierre Herme with also meringue disks, choco ganache and covered with a chocolate glaze, and MY aunt said it was the best thing she's ever eaten. Maybe your aunt and my aunt should hang out. :-)

Hi, Clumbsy, you made an error converting sugar in Cocoa Meringue-500 grams sugar it's aliitl' bit more than 1 pound not 2 pounds as you wrote. Hope it will help other people. By the way, you can use just 2 cups of sugar there